The Faith of Abraham According to Paul

Observe. Paul asks what Abraham discovered. If he had been justified by works, he would have had something to boast about, but not before God. Instead, Scripture says Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Paul draws a contrast: wages are owed to a worker, but to the one who does not work and trusts God who justifies the ungodly, faith is credited as righteousness. Later in the chapter he describes that faith. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed. He faced the fact that his body was as good as dead and Sarah's womb was dead, yet he did not waver but was strengthened in his faith, fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

Interpret. Paul is careful to say that Abraham's faith was not a refusal to look at reality. He faced the facts. What he did not do was let the facts outvote the promise. And Paul insists that the words credited to him were written not for Abraham alone but for us, who believe in the one who raised Jesus from the dead. The same crediting happens on the same basis.

Apply. Christians can slip into thinking that faith is a work, a feat of positive thinking we perform. Paul's Abraham simply trusted the promiser, and the righteousness was a gift.

What facts are you facing right now that seem to outvote God's promise? Where have you turned faith into a performance rather than a trust? How does it steady you to know that the same God who gave Isaac raised Jesus?